Tulane University UTAP – Rwanda

FY2006 Program description

As per Rwanda’s FY2006 Country Operations Plan (COP), Tulane University – through CDC’s University Technical Assistance Program (UTAP) – has been requested to build upon the successful interventions initiated in Rwanda in fiscal years 2004 and 2005 supporting PEPFAR Rwanda’s portfolio in two program areas (1) Strategic Information (SI) and (2) Policy, Systems Strengthening (PSS). The financial resources allocated to these two program areas are roughly equal with $580,000 to SI and $500,000 to PSS.  These financial resources are complemented with some FY05 resources that are being carried over to FY06 because (a) FY05 money was not received until September, 2005 (5 months into the fiscal year) and (b) Hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced Tulane University to close for nearly 4 months.  In-spite of these obstacles, Tulane was able to complete the majority of its interventions planned for FY05.

In the SI program area, Tulane has two complementary interventions.  The first provides technical assistance to the Treatment and Research AIDS Center (TRAC) and the second to the Commission National de la Lutte contre le Sida (CNLS) which is Rwanda’s National AIDS Coordinating (NAC) body.  The activities under these 2 interventions are:

• TA and training to TRAC personnel in analysis, reporting and publication of routine service statistics
• TA/training to TRAC in questionnaire design and revision
• Train, with UNAIDS,  TRAC staff in use of CRIS to report national data 
• TA to support TRAC, CNLS and other agencies in expanding and networking their HIV-related inventories and digital libraries
• Assist TRAC and CNLS in providing training to districts health teams, and national institutions in basic MS Office package
• TA to support TRAC and CNLS in improving its capacity in planning, monitoring and reporting
• TA to TRAC and CNLS in revising the national HIV/AIDS strategic plan/framework and  M&E plan
• TA to CNLS for monitoring and implementation of national M&E plan (data collection, analysis and reporting)
• TA to CNLS for development/adaptation of community-based HIV program reporting system

It is not by chance that the majority of these activities are conducted with both agencies.  A fundamental component of Tulane’s intervention strategy is to bring these agencies together as much as possible when providing TA and training because it has economies of scale and – even more important – it fosters collaboration and coordination.  Because these two agencies are coordinating agencies themselves, Tulane reaches dozens of other agencies through their assistance to the CNLS and TRAC.

Fiscal year 2006 will differ from previous years in that our emphasis will be on providing aggressive T.A and mentoring in research methodologies, analysis, interpretation and data use; previous years focused more on training than mentoring.   This change in emphasis will result in more research quality reporting and publications than if our focus remained weighted toward training.  The corresponding budget and budget description clearly show this strategy-shift.  Our SI interventions are more clearly complement our PSS intervention.

In the PSS program area, Tulane has one interventions – continuing the Rwanda HIV/AIDS Public Interest Fellowship (RHPIF).  Though a single intervention, it is so multi-faceted that it should be labeled as a series of multi-sector interventions.  While primary objective of the RHPIF remains the same – to provide practical, on the job training and experience to young Rwandan university graduates (from faculties other than the health sciences) as program managers ready to work in the multi-sector, multi-disciplinary field of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment - this year’s activities demonstrate the RHPIF’s contribution to higher education in Rwanda and to reaching out to a larger number of beneficiaries.  As per the FY2006 COP, these are:

• Expand the RHPIF by placing the newly recruited 2nd cohort of 15 fellows with their host agencies and bringing on 3rd cohort of 15 fellows in early 2007
• Prepare a strategy for aiding the 1^st cohort of 10 fellows as they complete their fellowship, become alumni of the program and search for employment
• Engage new host agencies throughout the country with which the 2nd and 3rd cohorts will be placed.
• Complete development of the RHPIF training curriculum (the 12^th and 18^th month trainings)
• Begin conversion of the fellowship training curriculum to a University recognized (accredited) certificate course that will be offered to a wide variety of audience (in addition to the fellows) through the National University of Rwanda’s School of Public Health (NUR/SPH).
• Train a pool of national HIV/AIDS focal points and umbrella (coordinating) agencies with fellowship curriculum
• Train the fellows, their supervisors, a pool of national HIV/AIDS focal points and umbrella agencies in computer skills.

As seen through these activities, the beneficiaries of the fellowship program extend well beyond the 25 fellows currently in the program. In fact, the number of beneficiaries is more than 5 times that number.  Equally important, Tulane will provide T.A. to the NUR/SPH necessary to convert the RHPIF curriculum to a NUR recognized certificate course and teaching this course.  In doing so, the RHPIF strengthens the national university and provides it with opportunity for offering this course to other groups (and, because this will be an income-generating course, helps assure the SPH’s sustainability.

The corresponding budget and budget description clearly show the resources that are budgeted to assure completion of these anticipated RHPIF activities for FY2006.